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For this cross-sectional case control pilot study 30 women, 55-75 years old with type II diabetes will be recruited. Diabetes will be defined as self-report of diabetes previously diagnosed by a physician, use of hypoglycemic medications, or fasting glucose > 126 mg/dl (7.0mM) in accordance with the American Diabetes Association criteria. The diabetic patient population will be divided into 2 groups: patients with status post low energy fractures of the proximal humerus, the proximal femur, the ankle and the foot (n=10) versus diabetic patients with no fractures or low energy trauma fracture history (n=10). An additional group of 10 diabetic postmenopausal women will be recruited and will have magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the lower back only. Caucasian, Asian and Hispanic women will be combined since a previous study suggested that BMD is very similar in these 3 population and that ethnic differences are minimal. In addition a population of 10 age-matched, BMI-matched, race-matched healthy women, without osteoporotic fractures will be examined. In all of these volunteers a medical history will be obtained to ensure good health status and rule out chronic diseases that would have an impact on bone metabolism. Patients will undergo MRI, QCT and high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) examinations to determine bone mineral density and bone structure/quality.

The hypothesis of this pilot project is that type II diabetic patients with and without low-energy fractures have a different trabecular bone architecture and composition, which is also different when compared to normal age-matched healthy patients. Architectural differences in these three patient groups may be visualized with high resolution MRI and high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) and will be most pronounced at the calcaneus and the distal tibia. Analyzing structure parameters obtained from high resolution MRI and spectroscopy may improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of diabetic bone disease and the prediction of fracture risk in an elderly diabetic population.

MRI of the calcaneus, the distal tibia, the distal radius and also lower back.

Device: High resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography

HR-pQCT of the distal radius and distal tibia

2

Diabetic without fracture

Device: magnetic Resonance Imaging

MRI of the calcaneus, the distal tibia, the distal radius and also lower back.

Device: Computed Tomography

CT scan of the lower back and hip

Device: High resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography

HR-pQCT of the distal radius and distal tibia

3

Diabetic with fracture

Device: magnetic Resonance Imaging

MRI of the calcaneus, the distal tibia, the distal radius and also lower back.

Device: Computed Tomography

CT scan of the lower back and hip

Device: High resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography

HR-pQCT of the distal radius and distal tibia

Eligibility

Information from the National Library of Medicine

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Ages Eligible for Study:

55 Years to 75 Years (Adult, Senior)

Sexes Eligible for Study:

Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Sampling Method:

Probability Sample

Study Population

10 healthy postmenopausal women 10 postmenopausal women with Type II Diabetes and without fracture 10 postmenopausal women with Type II Diabetes and with fracture of the long bone of the upper arm, hip, ankle, or foot 10 postmenopausal women with Type II Diabetes with and without fracture

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Postmenopausal female, 55-75 years old

History of Type II diabetes, as defined by the American Diabetes Association for more than 5 years that is either insulin requiring or treated with oral therapies such as sulfonylureas and metformin

Body mass index (BMI) of 19-35

Able to move without walkers and without a history of long periods (>3 months) of inactivity

Additional Inclusion criteria for fracture participants:

Fractures of the proximal humerus and femur as well as the ankle and foot should have occurred after the onset of diabetes and should have been caused by a low energy trauma such as falling from standing height. All fractures will be verified by radiographs.

Exclusion Criteria:

Severe neuropathic disease such as neurogenic osteoarthropathies (i.e., Charcot joints) of the foot

Steroid users or have disease conditions that could play a significant role in the development of osteoporosis such as idiopathic osteoporosis, immobilization, hyperparathyroidism, or hyperthyroidism